Poderi Boscarelli is a family-run winery in Cervognano di Montepulciano, Tuscany. The estate is located on the eastern slope northeast of the town at 300 meters above sea level, overlooking the Valdichiana valley. Oak trees and olive groves surround the property, and soils are alluvial, with plenty of sand, gravel, and some clay. They drain well and give the grapes minerality and clear character.
The estate started in 1962 when Egidio Corradi, a grain broker from Genoa, bought two run-down farms in Cervognano. He wanted to bring back quality Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and make wines that matched the region’s name. The first vintage came out in 1968. His daughter Paola and her husband Ippolito De Ferrari expanded the property in the 1960s. They planted the first proper vineyards and turned old stables into a basic winery.
After Ippolito passed away in 1983, Paola took charge of the winery and hired Maurizio Castelli as consulting winemaker. Her sons Luca and Nicolò, who were teenagers then, later joined her full time. Today the three of them run the business together. Luca looks after the vineyards and the style of the wines. Nicolò handles vineyard management and cellar work, using his experience in agriculture and architecture.
The vineyards cover about 30 hectares. Sangiovese, known locally as Prugnolo Gentile, makes up roughly 80 percent of the plantings. The other 20 percent includes native grapes such as Canaiolo, Colorino, and Mammolo, plus some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot chosen to fit the different soil types. The family farms the vines using conventional methods. After the main replanting ended in the late 1980s, densities settled at 6,000 to 7,000 vines per hectare. They keep yields low at around 1.5 kilograms of grapes per vine.
Grapes are harvested parcel by parcel once they reach the right ripeness for each vine’s age, location, and soil. This produces more than 30 separate Sangiovese lots each year. Each lot ferments on its own with wild yeasts from the estate’s vineyards. The wines then age in temperature-controlled oak barrels, mostly small ones.
Boscarelli follows the rules for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, which requires at least 70 percent Prugnolo Gentile. The standard wine needs two years in oak, while the Riserva needs three. Annual production is around 100,000 to 120,000 bottles, with Vino Nobile making up the bulk of it. The main wines are the Annata and Riserva versions of Vino Nobile, plus single-vineyard bottlings such as Sotto Casa and Il Nocio. They also make Rosso di Montepulciano Prugnolo, the IGT Rosso De Ferrari, and a white called Il Bianco from Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Vermentino. In smaller quantities, the estate produces Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice from dried red grapes aged at least four years in small caratelli barrels, along with grappa from Vino Nobile skins and extra virgin olive oil.
Year after year, the wines show elegance and finesse, along with strong consistency. They usually taste structured and closed when young, and they improve with time in the bottle instead of following the trend for wines meant to be drunk early. The family focuses on showing the specific character of each soil and clone by fermenting lots separately and blending them carefully at the end.
Poderi Boscarelli has a solid reputation as one of the top addresses for Sangiovese in the Montepulciano area. The wines regularly earn high scores from critics, often in the 90s from Wine Spectator and James Suckling, and they have appeared in Wine Spectator’s Top 100. Back in 1976, Veronelli already listed the estate among Italy’s 80 best wines. It is also a founding member of the Alliance Vinum group, which works to promote quality Vino Nobile. Maurizio Castelli has helped shape the winemaking style since the mid-1980s and still plays an important role.
